The move isn’t a surprise. Williams led the Griffins with 63 points (32 goals, 31 assists) in 77 games last season, but he remained a long shot to crack the lineup for the parent club Detroit Red Wings.

Williams did have a solid season in Grand Rapids. He established career highs in games, goals, points and shots (210). He can be a point-per-game player with a nasty shot who can man the point on the power play.

He finished last season ranked eighth in the American Hockey League in goals and was tied for fourth with 14 power-play goals.

Williams spent the 2008-09 season split between the Toronto Marlies and their parent club, the Toronto Maple Leafs. He had five goals and two assists in 11 games with the Maple Leafs, and 27 goals and 13 assists in 46 games with the Marlies.

In 325 career AHL games, he has 122 goals, 121 assists and 248 penalty minutes. He has nine goals and two assists in 31 NHL games.

He was Toronto’s seventh-round draft pick (220th overall) in the 2003 NHL draft.